Somehow people are taking the kiss in episode one (which likely was a stylistic choice to highlight her obsessive,…
Lol, i've said in the past, even the shows I would consider masterpieces, have flaws. There is no such thing as a perfect show, and I can enjoy a show and note its flaws at the same time, it's not one or the other.
Yeah, pranks and I have been talking. I'm still considering watching this one cause KYJ is one of the younger…
So this is where all of you migrated after KTEM :)
The trailer for this doesn't seem bad. I'm just finishing up CLOY at the moment, and I also plan to watch it's okay not to be okay. Still debating whether I want to do a weekly thing or not.
Mystic pop up bar will be finishing their run soon, I have that on my list as well.
I notice these younger stars like JCW, LMH, KSH and etc... have so many Stans, and these stans really can't take criticism's of their idols. Out of the three I mentioned, I like KSH the best, and LMH the least.
Somehow people are taking the kiss in episode one (which likely was a stylistic choice to highlight her obsessive,…
wow, interesting, seems to have a lot of issues.
I'm not sure how much the age difference bothers me. Like the actor and actress has a 12 year gap, it's not so uncommon.
I may have to watch this if I am to properly give my stance, but based on your short blurb, I might have to agree with pranks on this one.
So far the comment sections I've been have been OK, except for KTEM, which had it's fair share of bad eggs. Surprise to see this one being so controversial, but I understand the reason now.
Also i'm so conflicted, Gong Hyo Jin is my favorite actress, and I really loved Pasta, although I know I shouldn't since the men are so misogynistic in that drama, but I can't help it, LSK voice is like soft caramel, and even though he is abusive, I couldn't get myself to hate his character.
Somehow people are taking the kiss in episode one (which likely was a stylistic choice to highlight her obsessive,…
I haven't seen the show, care to elaborate a little bit?
So the girl kisses the guy first? What's wrong with that?
This is one of those double standard discussions. In the past few years, there have been enough documented cases of male fans kissing female newscaster, and almost each time, these women will after the taping state they did not appreciate such advances.
The problem is, you may be right, and most men would be ok with it, but they shouldn't. This sends the wrong message because it makes nefarious behavior gender specific.
This is no different than the many scandals were older teachers would sleep with their HS students. When the teachers were attractive females, a lot of the comments (from men obviously) would congratulate the young man who "scored" with the hot teacher, since it fulfilled many teenage boys fantasy.
But when the roles were reversed, the equally attractive male teacher was ostracize, and jail time was demanded by both genders.
Anyway, I know it's a drama, but I can see why some people may be bothered with the kiss, especially since most of us here i'm guessing are women.
Wow, how is this only 8.8?, such an amazing drama, with such realistic portrayal of couple relationship, the ups and the downs. The ending was soooo good as well. A real tear jerker of a drama, highly recommended, I will leave a review as well enumerating why I think this is one of my favorite Kdrama of all time!
Watched this in 2020, and this is really amazing, one of the Hong Sisters best work yet. GHJ in this is just super adorable! and SJS is so funny. I would actually rank this better than OMV for SJS in terms of chemistry with the FL.
Sorry, I thought you made those other Charlotte accounts. I see, that it wasn't you, so I take back my accusation on that one, and I say sorry.
But I stand by my statement on how your "Facts" mislead and misinform. And like i've said previously, no more you defend blindly, without even accepting any flaws to the show, your setting up future viewers to be majorly disappointed. Your actually accomplishing the opposite of your mission statement.
And I'm not going to bother digging up old comments to prove a point. But it's around the time you started defending KTEM using stats from Flix Patrol. And even prior to that there are other ones as well. You want to prove something, go ahead and dig through them. As for me, i've made by point.
Stop trying to play the victim card, dear, as user Amy has already said, it has always been the other way around, the defenders pouncing on the critics, who they call haters. And as has been said by Amy, hater is like calling someone a liar, so maybe your going to want to stop that.
Anyway, talking to you has stressed me out and is affecting my mental health. So I'm going to take a break from MDL. It's fans like you that most dramas don't need, and scare away other viewers. hopefully you see the error in your ways as start to grow up.
I'm out for now, unless you plan to attack me some more, which seems to be recently, your favorite thing to do...
P.S.
Note how I go through your comment, and respond to most of the thing you brought up? THIS Is how you do a proper rebuttal. Maybe you can learn from me in this sense, instead of reading the first paragraph and responding to that, and then ignoring the rest of the comment. Something you've done since i've known you.
I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to report this comment.
Enough is enough Charlotte. Yes i've called you out by name before, and even then, i've never name called, the same way you have, because I do not want to lower myself to your level.
I've called you out before, because of your very misleading comments. I have no problems with differing opinions, but when someone bandies about misleading/inaccurate facts, then I have to counter them. NOT ONCE have you given me a proper factual rebuttal. And even until now, you have not responded properly to my post. But I understand, that's your personality, you don't read, you just respond.
Ask anyone on these comment section, do you think I would waste time trying to troll you, when I haven't done so before? I've always argued with you using logic, rational facts, and educated opinions. Same can't be said about you. So you think everyone that disagrees with you personally is me? Wow, I must be that popular.
I guess my pleas for you to stop posting on every single criticsm of the show, and blindly defending KTEM to everyone out there is falling on deaf ears. You do you. Don't forget, the more you extremely defend, the more people will not watch the show, it's human nature.
But please, don't reply to this comment, as I'm doing my best to control my emotions at how you are currently slandering me. For now I will take the high road.
Oh, you came back ? Nice to see you. The drama is currently erasing itself from my memory at high speed.I feel…
I got to say, I don't think I've ever seen romance portrayed like this. Both Gong hyo Jin and Jo in sung character have flaws, that any BF or GF would find so annoying, in that way, it's so refreshing and realistic.
I'm thinking this may be one of her best works. I'm at episode 9 now, it's getting really really good! Praying for a good ending, lol.
Oh, you came back ? Nice to see you. The drama is currently erasing itself from my memory at high speed.I feel…
I check the comment section every now and then, but after today, I might just ignore this comment section for a while.
I almost feel like Charlotte is goading people, and i've told her before not to be too blinded, and learn to accept other people's view, and don't force the show down peoples throat. Her bias has gotten quite extreme, and it's kinda making the comment section a travesty.
I'm currently watching It's Okay That's Love. Gong Hyo Jin is my favorite actress of all time. So yeah lol. I plan to watch KSH new drama It's okay not to be okay, but probably when it's all done. I've actually been thinking about watching W the two worlds, it just showed up on my recommend list. Silly enough, it showed up as "If you like KTEM, you might also like..." LOL, isn't that funny.
I need a break from incredibly smart shows like KTEM, lol :) But I read the synopsis of W, it seems interesting.
I left these comment section, and it was in a good state at the time. What happened in a few days is appalling.
Can the extremist from both critics and defenders please stop. Nobody wanting to see proper comments can waddle through all this filth.
Charlottes, all of you, only god knows how many accounts there are, can you PLEASE STOP. I get it you want people not to be discouraged by the bad reviews so that they will watch the show, but just look, there are so many bad reviews of KTEM, it must mean something. And as you may already know, there are plenty of dramas that have bad ratings, or bad reviews that has its own cult following, can't you just let KTEM have the same thing? A cult following, instead of trying to convince everyone and their mom that it should be more mainstream that it should be.
Let people form their own opinion instead of lambasting them for not understanding it, it's so freaking condescending when you do that, and you've done it at least 5 times that i've seen. If people want to watch it, let them. If people hated it, so what, let them feel that, why try your hardest to convince them that they are not smart enough for KTEM? I seriously doubt you are converting many critics into defenders with your factless and disparaging comments.
And you've been misleading people since day one, just stop it for christ sake. If people want to watch it, they will watch it regardless of the number of poor reviews.
Your not doing a service to people who love this show. Haven't you noticed? the people who love the show, themselves admit that there are flaws, and are not calling it the perfect drama.
Also think about it for a second. When you compare KTEM to the likes of GOT, your just needlessly overhyping KTEM, so when someone actually watches it and doesn't think its better than GOT at all, you will get an even more disappointed viewer. By defending KTEM, and using inaccurate metrics to prop it up, you actually indirectly end up doing the opposite, as more viewers will dislike it, and may end up blaming your comments/review for it. Think about that for a second.
You really come off as an extremist here, and your really muddling up the comment section. You dislike the critics, when they are not even being extreme, but factual and analytical most of the time.
Geez, let the comment section breathe, don't feel the need to defend KTEM in every single post, do some work or something.
Anyway, it's your life you can do what you want with it, but seriously, don't overblow too much how great the show is, when majority of people have already panned it. Your needlessly obsessing about it.
Hi, since you took the time to write such a long and detailed post, let me just respond to a few things.
First things first, you mention letting our inner child out, and you mention KTEM being a Modern Fairy Tale for Adults. I'm going to have to disagree to certain extent, it has fairy tale aspects, but they are not Modern ones. The only fairy tales that I would even compare to are the ones written by the Brothers Grimm. Where there are a dichotomy of Good and Evil, wait let me correct that, EXTREME GOOD and EXTREME EVIL. These fairy tales were great, and are still being told to children of all ages.
But here's the thing, the adults who are the main watchers of Korean Drama's are between the ages of 20-35, and their childhood Fairy Tales are a quite a bit different, their inner child a little bit different that adults in the 45-70 year old range. Look no further than the compendium of Golden Compass, Harry Potter, and yes, especially Disney Films. The line of Good vs Evil has never been finer. Every Disney film has gone more and more towards the grey area for both villains and heroes. Gone are the days of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, or the LIttle Red Riding Hood. Enter Frozen, Rapunzel (the new one), Toy Story, and etc... These are the films kids are growing up with now, and the films adults are now remembering, especially the young adult. And LMH and KGE, being actors in the 30 year old range, tend to pull in a younger audience, who grew up with these newer type of fairy tales.
And this may be one of the bigger reason why KTEM is not being well reviewed. Because a lot of the younger audiences are not so fond of completely making the Villain an nonredeemable idiot, and the Hero into a godlike Prince Charming, because these same audience, have read and watched Game of Thrones, a masterpiece work on the usage of grey characters. Viewers are smarter now, inner child or not.
I agree, fairy tales tend to have deeper emotional stories that delight kids, and provides insight to adults. Take Toy Story for example, a lot of kids loved it, and a lot of adults love it as well.
In OLDER fairy tales your prince, white steed, squire and etc... all exist, no longer in the newer ones. The META of fairy tales have been broken by imaginative, and clever new stories. What I find interesting is that older fairy tales are given a modern makeover, take for example the shows Enchanted, Wicked, Big Bad Wolf is Good and other similar books that take old stories and breath into them new life, that tells a different kind of lesson.
And as much as most viewers, including myself, would like to ignore many of the flawed aspects of KTEM to enjoy the meat of the plot, a lot of viewers have become way too smart. In the older times, korean kdrama, and even spanish telenovelas, had a very formulaic structure that was very much accepted in those times. Look no further than Boys Over Flowers, another favorite of LMH fans. Fans of that era, absolutely enjoyed it, even though from a woman's point of view it was so misogynistic. With the rise of the #metoo movement, women are getting smarter, newer reviewers of Boys Over Flower absolutely hate the character of LMH for the extremely toxic way he treats the FL. So as you can see viewers taste are different, and I think KES kind of forgot that. She forgot who her audience were, and in a way it's insulting to think that audience who loved you previous works, will obviously love your future work. Even Disney has flops, and fans let Disney know when they drop the ball.
Yes, fairy tales are there to entertain, and KTEM's plot had all the tools necessary to do so, but even if you ignore the most egregious of shortcomings, the show still felt like a very slow paced indie film, that tried to place too many metaphors, symbolism, and meanings, where they either, did not belong, or didn't make sense. So in the end, as much as I wanted to enjoy it, I coud not. I would need to turn myself into a pure zealot of the actors and actress to enjoy it. And you've seen these type of zealot fans, they praise any show their favorite stars are in regardless of how bad the shows are.
The thing is, if KES, the writer, actually took a very unique idea, and what not, I would agree that we cannot get angry at the plot. For example, can you really blame the writers of Star Trek, or Star Wars about inconsistencies about the world they created? No, because prior to those works, there were none that show that level of innovations. KTEM? not so much. KES is writing about time travel and parallel world, it is a subject that has LITERALLY THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS of works made across a variety of media, with so much material for any aspiring screenwriter to delve and adapt into. So imagine fans of those thousands of work seeing a story of time travel that just frankly, does not make sense. Imagine fans of Back to the Future, Marvel, Someday, Oneday and etc... seeing this mess of a Time Travel/Parallel World being touted as legitimate.
I see your profile is that of a music/theatre teacher. Would you be happy if I got a classic like Beethoven, and instead of making my own adaptation that was also good, I completely butchered it beyond recognition, to the point, you can't even tell it's Beethoven anymore, but I claim it is. As a fan of Beethoven you may be irked. I've even seen time travel films, that have been remade, making sure to pay homage to the original film, and it's wonderful.
People never criticized, as far as I know about the capital being in Busan.
Those Japenes Pagodas, while controversial, isn't the main reason people didn't watch it. If that was the case, how come the Chinese, who are the second biggest consumer of Kdrama hated it as well? It certainly had nothing to do with the production mistake. Also, I implore you to read online review by film critics for KTEM to see more of the reasons it was universally disliked.
I think most people understood that the Kingdom of Corea was fictional, so aspects of it, that isn't realistic was generally accepted.
Actually a good writer, does research. Most Dramas, fantasy, historical, science fiction or not, that butchers actual people, actual historical facts, and actual scientific, mathematical, and medical information, hear it from all fans.
Imagine, if I were to write a story about mexico, and in my story, Mexico is part of the US. OR I write about how Rap music was invented by caucasians. Will I get much lease in my creative license? or will people hate me? The show KTEM did some research on the science it uses, but unforunately, smart viewers did more research. When the viewers of the show are smart than the writer, there's an issue. The plot becomes too predictable, and get's stale very fast, making people lost interest early int he show, which shows with the number of people who dropped the show no more than 3 episodes in.
The ending wasn't clear, but there were enough clues that showed, they were leaving for more than a weekend, and the King kind of abandoned his duty as King. The clues were there. What started as a weekend things, got longer and longer, until I believe it showed eternity.
Budget:
I'm not a good judge of special effects, but I don't know how they spent $25 million, the effects were not as stellar. In comparison, a show like Kingdom on Netflix, cost about the same, and that ones production values, actually won awards. And imagine a zombie film, how much makeup, how much costumes, how much CGI needed to be done, is staggerring.
Cast:
We can agree to disagree, but the supporting cast all did excellent, the Main and Female lead not so much. LMH is one of the stiffest actors i've ever seen, his monotone voice, haughty demeanor, and emotionless face made me feel nothing at all. KGE, who I disliked since her Goblin days, does a better job, but she is still quite annoying. You didn't mention WDH who is hands down the best actor in this show, including SJ and PM. You should re-watch and focus on these 3 actors, they will blow you away with their acting.
Why is LG the third king of Silla?
No, your wrong here. Why they say he is the 3rd king I will never know, but there has been kings ever since the Silla Dynasty, when King Silla is given the flute. It's in episode 1. Maybe they mean 3rd king after the the Korean war that never happened, thus there is north/south korea in Corea.
Why Busan?
No, you are wrong here. the show specifically says, the reason the capital is in Busan. It is to show strength in front of the Japenese. That the ruler is not afraid to be the first line of defence. They even further show this by the King boarding of the warships to show that the King is not afraid to be in the midst of battle.
The yoyo boy
no, there is only one Yoyo boy, this is pretty clear in the ending.
The Run out End
The opposite, the drama should have been shorter, filler character, filler scenes, useless scenes littered each and every episode. They could have benefited from smarter and tighter writing and had this finished in 12 episodes instead of 16.
LEE MIN HO'S MISGUIDED COMMENTS, SAYING HE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THIS DRAMA
Yes, these LMH is not the sharpest tool in the shed, but was he wrong in his comment when a majority of viewers felt the same?
I've also written a review, it's in the first page. You seem to be a smart writer, I would like to get your take on my review, if you agreed or not. Thanks, all the best!
I'd like to give my farewell to this comment section. Sharing this horrid experience with my fellow viewers has been the best two weeks of my life this 2020, and have been very entertaining, especially during this COVID-19 lockdown.
To my Fellow Critics:
The witty, often humorous of the post from the seasoned posters on this board has been the backbone of this comment section. I know that most of the critics here do not want to dissuade future viewers. That is never our intention, but instead we took this comment section as a forum to discuss how the show continued to disappoint us on an ever increasing scale each episode. Being in this comment section has made me a better writer, and for that I will be eternally grateful!
You all held out like soldiers, even when the show kept getting worse and worse, you all held out. I'm glad to have been part of this once in a lifetime posting experience. I hope to meet you in other equally bad dramas (is this even possible?!?) comments section.
To the Defenders:
And to the defenders, I can't say much. I was often frustrated debating with people who either didn't read what I wrote, which I often wrote with logical and factual backings. Debating pointlessly with these select defenders, brought me nothing but pain and misery, akin to watching KTEM.
Most of the defenders reasoning for why KTEM is great fell into three words. LMH (this is one word!), Poetry, and Fake Science. When I tried to criticize KTEM, this was more than not the response I get from defenders. I hope not to meet you in other comment sections.
To the General Public in the Comment Section:
I hope the many theories and explanations I made in the comment section helped your understanding and enjoyment to the show.
I leave everyone, with this insightful question.
"If critics of KTEM didn't exist in this timeline, would defenders of the show cease to exist?"
P.S.
Looking for good recommendations of a 2020 drama, not necessarily looking for sci fi.
Thank You!, and everyone be safe in the world of COVID-19
LR was shot in the leg in episode 15. I'm sure TE would know how to take advantage of that wound. Also, TE took…
Poetic?
I'm just going to leave this here. Enjoy! I'm sure you will agree with me.
Kimsamsoom a day ago The helmet PPL is life, I don't think KTEM would be as good without it.
When I saw the helmet PPL, I immediately thought about the mask that people in power often have to put on. In fact, we can argue the helmet is the real face of the people who wear it, because of the protection it offers. Ousiders cannot see thru the iron mask, and the wearer of the mask only sees an LED world that to them remains the truest form of the world.
It is when they have to remove the mask that these people, royalty and other people in power have to wear their mask (their real faces), because now they are naked, without a $2.000 mask to hide behind, to be comfortable, thus to be most truest.
The price tag of said PPL is very important to the plot of the story, because, being the most expensive item on the show, it shows that human beings value, that solace, that freedom from facing the real world.
The importance of the mask even overtakes other PPL like BBQ Olive Chicken (signifying hunger), The Alley BBT (signifying thirst), and the balm TE uses (signifying hydration). This goes to show, that other necessities like food, water, and hydration are not as important as the freedom that comes from wearing the iron mask.
So, I have to disagree with you on the Iron Mask, as I feel it was the most important PPL in making us understand KTEM.
LR was shot in the leg in episode 15. I'm sure TE would know how to take advantage of that wound. Also, TE took…
48 hours is 2 days FYI. Or do they count time different in Republic of Korea? Don't know they never explain how people tell time there. Plus seeing how LG survive in time space world with nothing but nothing, no need for food and pee and etc... We can also assume blood and pain and all those things don't exist also, because nerve impulse, pain receptors and blood flow are all mechanical acts that should not work in time space world.
Also TE is never shown to have killed anyone, so she lacked that killer gene. You can see this in her look of surprise when she shoots LR. LR might be her first kill even.
LR has killed a lot of people, and has more experience fighting than TE. minimum 35 more years experience. So i'm sure he could have figured out how to deal with TE, regardless of hadncuffs. I mean if LG, who is suppose to be a bad shot, can kill at least ten highly trained henchmen on his own, doing Bourne Identity like stunts, i'm sure LR can manage TE as well. I mean not even to kill her, but to reach the portal for the coup. But my point, there is zero attempt, and he just stands there to get killed.
Your reasoning here is not correct. And as usual you ignore what else I said. I should just stop responding, this is my last one for this topic.
The trailer for this doesn't seem bad. I'm just finishing up CLOY at the moment, and I also plan to watch it's okay not to be okay. Still debating whether I want to do a weekly thing or not.
Mystic pop up bar will be finishing their run soon, I have that on my list as well.
I notice these younger stars like JCW, LMH, KSH and etc... have so many Stans, and these stans really can't take criticism's of their idols. Out of the three I mentioned, I like KSH the best, and LMH the least.
I'm not sure how much the age difference bothers me. Like the actor and actress has a 12 year gap, it's not so uncommon.
I may have to watch this if I am to properly give my stance, but based on your short blurb, I might have to agree with pranks on this one.
So far the comment sections I've been have been OK, except for KTEM, which had it's fair share of bad eggs. Surprise to see this one being so controversial, but I understand the reason now.
Also i'm so conflicted, Gong Hyo Jin is my favorite actress, and I really loved Pasta, although I know I shouldn't since the men are so misogynistic in that drama, but I can't help it, LSK voice is like soft caramel, and even though he is abusive, I couldn't get myself to hate his character.
So the girl kisses the guy first? What's wrong with that?
This is one of those double standard discussions. In the past few years, there have been enough documented cases of male fans kissing female newscaster, and almost each time, these women will after the taping state they did not appreciate such advances.
The problem is, you may be right, and most men would be ok with it, but they shouldn't. This sends the wrong message because it makes nefarious behavior gender specific.
This is no different than the many scandals were older teachers would sleep with their HS students. When the teachers were attractive females, a lot of the comments (from men obviously) would congratulate the young man who "scored" with the hot teacher, since it fulfilled many teenage boys fantasy.
But when the roles were reversed, the equally attractive male teacher was ostracize, and jail time was demanded by both genders.
Anyway, I know it's a drama, but I can see why some people may be bothered with the kiss, especially since most of us here i'm guessing are women.
she's like one of the nicest commenter back over at KTEM comment section.
Wow, how is this only 8.8?, such an amazing drama, with such realistic portrayal of couple relationship, the ups and the downs. The ending was soooo good as well. A real tear jerker of a drama, highly recommended, I will leave a review as well enumerating why I think this is one of my favorite Kdrama of all time!
Might have to rewatch this now.
I plan to rewatch this again soon.
But I stand by my statement on how your "Facts" mislead and misinform. And like i've said previously, no more you defend blindly, without even accepting any flaws to the show, your setting up future viewers to be majorly disappointed. Your actually accomplishing the opposite of your mission statement.
And I'm not going to bother digging up old comments to prove a point. But it's around the time you started defending KTEM using stats from Flix Patrol. And even prior to that there are other ones as well. You want to prove something, go ahead and dig through them. As for me, i've made by point.
Stop trying to play the victim card, dear, as user Amy has already said, it has always been the other way around, the defenders pouncing on the critics, who they call haters. And as has been said by Amy, hater is like calling someone a liar, so maybe your going to want to stop that.
Anyway, talking to you has stressed me out and is affecting my mental health. So I'm going to take a break from MDL. It's fans like you that most dramas don't need, and scare away other viewers. hopefully you see the error in your ways as start to grow up.
I'm out for now, unless you plan to attack me some more, which seems to be recently, your favorite thing to do...
P.S.
Note how I go through your comment, and respond to most of the thing you brought up? THIS Is how you do a proper rebuttal. Maybe you can learn from me in this sense, instead of reading the first paragraph and responding to that, and then ignoring the rest of the comment. Something you've done since i've known you.
I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to report this comment.
Enough is enough Charlotte. Yes i've called you out by name before, and even then, i've never name called, the same way you have, because I do not want to lower myself to your level.
I've called you out before, because of your very misleading comments. I have no problems with differing opinions, but when someone bandies about misleading/inaccurate facts, then I have to counter them. NOT ONCE have you given me a proper factual rebuttal. And even until now, you have not responded properly to my post. But I understand, that's your personality, you don't read, you just respond.
Ask anyone on these comment section, do you think I would waste time trying to troll you, when I haven't done so before? I've always argued with you using logic, rational facts, and educated opinions. Same can't be said about you. So you think everyone that disagrees with you personally is me? Wow, I must be that popular.
I guess my pleas for you to stop posting on every single criticsm of the show, and blindly defending KTEM to everyone out there is falling on deaf ears. You do you. Don't forget, the more you extremely defend, the more people will not watch the show, it's human nature.
But please, don't reply to this comment, as I'm doing my best to control my emotions at how you are currently slandering me. For now I will take the high road.
Au Revoir Charlotte the Defender!
I'm thinking this may be one of her best works. I'm at episode 9 now, it's getting really really good! Praying for a good ending, lol.
I almost feel like Charlotte is goading people, and i've told her before not to be too blinded, and learn to accept other people's view, and don't force the show down peoples throat. Her bias has gotten quite extreme, and it's kinda making the comment section a travesty.
I'm currently watching It's Okay That's Love. Gong Hyo Jin is my favorite actress of all time. So yeah lol. I plan to watch KSH new drama It's okay not to be okay, but probably when it's all done. I've actually been thinking about watching W the two worlds, it just showed up on my recommend list. Silly enough, it showed up as "If you like KTEM, you might also like..." LOL, isn't that funny.
I need a break from incredibly smart shows like KTEM, lol :) But I read the synopsis of W, it seems interesting.
Can the extremist from both critics and defenders please stop. Nobody wanting to see proper comments can waddle through all this filth.
Charlottes, all of you, only god knows how many accounts there are, can you PLEASE STOP. I get it you want people not to be discouraged by the bad reviews so that they will watch the show, but just look, there are so many bad reviews of KTEM, it must mean something. And as you may already know, there are plenty of dramas that have bad ratings, or bad reviews that has its own cult following, can't you just let KTEM have the same thing? A cult following, instead of trying to convince everyone and their mom that it should be more mainstream that it should be.
Let people form their own opinion instead of lambasting them for not understanding it, it's so freaking condescending when you do that, and you've done it at least 5 times that i've seen. If people want to watch it, let them. If people hated it, so what, let them feel that, why try your hardest to convince them that they are not smart enough for KTEM? I seriously doubt you are converting many critics into defenders with your factless and disparaging comments.
And you've been misleading people since day one, just stop it for christ sake. If people want to watch it, they will watch it regardless of the number of poor reviews.
Your not doing a service to people who love this show. Haven't you noticed? the people who love the show, themselves admit that there are flaws, and are not calling it the perfect drama.
Also think about it for a second. When you compare KTEM to the likes of GOT, your just needlessly overhyping KTEM, so when someone actually watches it and doesn't think its better than GOT at all, you will get an even more disappointed viewer. By defending KTEM, and using inaccurate metrics to prop it up, you actually indirectly end up doing the opposite, as more viewers will dislike it, and may end up blaming your comments/review for it. Think about that for a second.
You really come off as an extremist here, and your really muddling up the comment section. You dislike the critics, when they are not even being extreme, but factual and analytical most of the time.
Geez, let the comment section breathe, don't feel the need to defend KTEM in every single post, do some work or something.
Anyway, it's your life you can do what you want with it, but seriously, don't overblow too much how great the show is, when majority of people have already panned it. Your needlessly obsessing about it.
Thank you!
First things first, you mention letting our inner child out, and you mention KTEM being a Modern Fairy Tale for Adults. I'm going to have to disagree to certain extent, it has fairy tale aspects, but they are not Modern ones. The only fairy tales that I would even compare to are the ones written by the Brothers Grimm. Where there are a dichotomy of Good and Evil, wait let me correct that, EXTREME GOOD and EXTREME EVIL. These fairy tales were great, and are still being told to children of all ages.
But here's the thing, the adults who are the main watchers of Korean Drama's are between the ages of 20-35, and their childhood Fairy Tales are a quite a bit different, their inner child a little bit different that adults in the 45-70 year old range. Look no further than the compendium of Golden Compass, Harry Potter, and yes, especially Disney Films. The line of Good vs Evil has never been finer. Every Disney film has gone more and more towards the grey area for both villains and heroes. Gone are the days of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, or the LIttle Red Riding Hood. Enter Frozen, Rapunzel (the new one), Toy Story, and etc... These are the films kids are growing up with now, and the films adults are now remembering, especially the young adult. And LMH and KGE, being actors in the 30 year old range, tend to pull in a younger audience, who grew up with these newer type of fairy tales.
And this may be one of the bigger reason why KTEM is not being well reviewed. Because a lot of the younger audiences are not so fond of completely making the Villain an nonredeemable idiot, and the Hero into a godlike Prince Charming, because these same audience, have read and watched Game of Thrones, a masterpiece work on the usage of grey characters. Viewers are smarter now, inner child or not.
I agree, fairy tales tend to have deeper emotional stories that delight kids, and provides insight to adults. Take Toy Story for example, a lot of kids loved it, and a lot of adults love it as well.
In OLDER fairy tales your prince, white steed, squire and etc... all exist, no longer in the newer ones. The META of fairy tales have been broken by imaginative, and clever new stories. What I find interesting is that older fairy tales are given a modern makeover, take for example the shows Enchanted, Wicked, Big Bad Wolf is Good and other similar books that take old stories and breath into them new life, that tells a different kind of lesson.
And as much as most viewers, including myself, would like to ignore many of the flawed aspects of KTEM to enjoy the meat of the plot, a lot of viewers have become way too smart. In the older times, korean kdrama, and even spanish telenovelas, had a very formulaic structure that was very much accepted in those times. Look no further than Boys Over Flowers, another favorite of LMH fans. Fans of that era, absolutely enjoyed it, even though from a woman's point of view it was so misogynistic. With the rise of the #metoo movement, women are getting smarter, newer reviewers of Boys Over Flower absolutely hate the character of LMH for the extremely toxic way he treats the FL. So as you can see viewers taste are different, and I think KES kind of forgot that. She forgot who her audience were, and in a way it's insulting to think that audience who loved you previous works, will obviously love your future work. Even Disney has flops, and fans let Disney know when they drop the ball.
Yes, fairy tales are there to entertain, and KTEM's plot had all the tools necessary to do so, but even if you ignore the most egregious of shortcomings, the show still felt like a very slow paced indie film, that tried to place too many metaphors, symbolism, and meanings, where they either, did not belong, or didn't make sense. So in the end, as much as I wanted to enjoy it, I coud not. I would need to turn myself into a pure zealot of the actors and actress to enjoy it. And you've seen these type of zealot fans, they praise any show their favorite stars are in regardless of how bad the shows are.
The thing is, if KES, the writer, actually took a very unique idea, and what not, I would agree that we cannot get angry at the plot. For example, can you really blame the writers of Star Trek, or Star Wars about inconsistencies about the world they created? No, because prior to those works, there were none that show that level of innovations. KTEM? not so much. KES is writing about time travel and parallel world, it is a subject that has LITERALLY THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS of works made across a variety of media, with so much material for any aspiring screenwriter to delve and adapt into. So imagine fans of those thousands of work seeing a story of time travel that just frankly, does not make sense. Imagine fans of Back to the Future, Marvel, Someday, Oneday and etc... seeing this mess of a Time Travel/Parallel World being touted as legitimate.
I see your profile is that of a music/theatre teacher. Would you be happy if I got a classic like Beethoven, and instead of making my own adaptation that was also good, I completely butchered it beyond recognition, to the point, you can't even tell it's Beethoven anymore, but I claim it is. As a fan of Beethoven you may be irked. I've even seen time travel films, that have been remade, making sure to pay homage to the original film, and it's wonderful.
People never criticized, as far as I know about the capital being in Busan.
Those Japenes Pagodas, while controversial, isn't the main reason people didn't watch it. If that was the case, how come the Chinese, who are the second biggest consumer of Kdrama hated it as well? It certainly had nothing to do with the production mistake. Also, I implore you to read online review by film critics for KTEM to see more of the reasons it was universally disliked.
https://movie.douban.com/subject/33437305//
I think most people understood that the Kingdom of Corea was fictional, so aspects of it, that isn't realistic was generally accepted.
Actually a good writer, does research. Most Dramas, fantasy, historical, science fiction or not, that butchers actual people, actual historical facts, and actual scientific, mathematical, and medical information, hear it from all fans.
Imagine, if I were to write a story about mexico, and in my story, Mexico is part of the US. OR I write about how Rap music was invented by caucasians. Will I get much lease in my creative license? or will people hate me? The show KTEM did some research on the science it uses, but unforunately, smart viewers did more research. When the viewers of the show are smart than the writer, there's an issue. The plot becomes too predictable, and get's stale very fast, making people lost interest early int he show, which shows with the number of people who dropped the show no more than 3 episodes in.
The ending wasn't clear, but there were enough clues that showed, they were leaving for more than a weekend, and the King kind of abandoned his duty as King. The clues were there. What started as a weekend things, got longer and longer, until I believe it showed eternity.
Budget:
I'm not a good judge of special effects, but I don't know how they spent $25 million, the effects were not as stellar. In comparison, a show like Kingdom on Netflix, cost about the same, and that ones production values, actually won awards. And imagine a zombie film, how much makeup, how much costumes, how much CGI needed to be done, is staggerring.
Cast:
We can agree to disagree, but the supporting cast all did excellent, the Main and Female lead not so much. LMH is one of the stiffest actors i've ever seen, his monotone voice, haughty demeanor, and emotionless face made me feel nothing at all. KGE, who I disliked since her Goblin days, does a better job, but she is still quite annoying. You didn't mention WDH who is hands down the best actor in this show, including SJ and PM. You should re-watch and focus on these 3 actors, they will blow you away with their acting.
Why is LG the third king of Silla?
No, your wrong here. Why they say he is the 3rd king I will never know, but there has been kings ever since the Silla Dynasty, when King Silla is given the flute. It's in episode 1. Maybe they mean 3rd king after the the Korean war that never happened, thus there is north/south korea in Corea.
Why Busan?
No, you are wrong here. the show specifically says, the reason the capital is in Busan. It is to show strength in front of the Japenese. That the ruler is not afraid to be the first line of defence. They even further show this by the King boarding of the warships to show that the King is not afraid to be in the midst of battle.
The yoyo boy
no, there is only one Yoyo boy, this is pretty clear in the ending.
The Run out End
The opposite, the drama should have been shorter, filler character, filler scenes, useless scenes littered each and every episode. They could have benefited from smarter and tighter writing and had this finished in 12 episodes instead of 16.
LEE MIN HO'S MISGUIDED COMMENTS, SAYING HE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THIS DRAMA
Yes, these LMH is not the sharpest tool in the shed, but was he wrong in his comment when a majority of viewers felt the same?
I've also written a review, it's in the first page. You seem to be a smart writer, I would like to get your take on my review, if you agreed or not. Thanks, all the best!
To my Fellow Critics:
The witty, often humorous of the post from the seasoned posters on this board has been the backbone of this comment section. I know that most of the critics here do not want to dissuade future viewers. That is never our intention, but instead we took this comment section as a forum to discuss how the show continued to disappoint us on an ever increasing scale each episode. Being in this comment section has made me a better writer, and for that I will be eternally grateful!
You all held out like soldiers, even when the show kept getting worse and worse, you all held out. I'm glad to have been part of this once in a lifetime posting experience. I hope to meet you in other equally bad dramas (is this even possible?!?) comments section.
To the Defenders:
And to the defenders, I can't say much. I was often frustrated debating with people who either didn't read what I wrote, which I often wrote with logical and factual backings. Debating pointlessly with these select defenders, brought me nothing but pain and misery, akin to watching KTEM.
Most of the defenders reasoning for why KTEM is great fell into three words. LMH (this is one word!), Poetry, and Fake Science. When I tried to criticize KTEM, this was more than not the response I get from defenders. I hope not to meet you in other comment sections.
To the General Public in the Comment Section:
I hope the many theories and explanations I made in the comment section helped your understanding and enjoyment to the show.
I leave everyone, with this insightful question.
"If critics of KTEM didn't exist in this timeline, would defenders of the show cease to exist?"
P.S.
Looking for good recommendations of a 2020 drama, not necessarily looking for sci fi.
Thank You!, and everyone be safe in the world of COVID-19
please Einlighteen us, which part exactly. I'm genuinely curious. Don't leave anything out.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_relativity
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_mechanics
I'm just going to leave this here. Enjoy! I'm sure you will agree with me.
Kimsamsoom a day ago
The helmet PPL is life, I don't think KTEM would be as good without it.
When I saw the helmet PPL, I immediately thought about the mask that people in power often have to put on. In fact, we can argue the helmet is the real face of the people who wear it, because of the protection it offers. Ousiders cannot see thru the iron mask, and the wearer of the mask only sees an LED world that to them remains the truest form of the world.
It is when they have to remove the mask that these people, royalty and other people in power have to wear their mask (their real faces), because now they are naked, without a $2.000 mask to hide behind, to be comfortable, thus to be most truest.
The price tag of said PPL is very important to the plot of the story, because, being the most expensive item on the show, it shows that human beings value, that solace, that freedom from facing the real world.
The importance of the mask even overtakes other PPL like BBQ Olive Chicken (signifying hunger), The Alley BBT (signifying thirst), and the balm TE uses (signifying hydration). This goes to show, that other necessities like food, water, and hydration are not as important as the freedom that comes from wearing the iron mask.
So, I have to disagree with you on the Iron Mask, as I feel it was the most important PPL in making us understand KTEM.
Also TE is never shown to have killed anyone, so she lacked that killer gene. You can see this in her look of surprise when she shoots LR. LR might be her first kill even.
LR has killed a lot of people, and has more experience fighting than TE. minimum 35 more years experience. So i'm sure he could have figured out how to deal with TE, regardless of hadncuffs. I mean if LG, who is suppose to be a bad shot, can kill at least ten highly trained henchmen on his own, doing Bourne Identity like stunts, i'm sure LR can manage TE as well. I mean not even to kill her, but to reach the portal for the coup. But my point, there is zero attempt, and he just stands there to get killed.
Your reasoning here is not correct. And as usual you ignore what else I said. I should just stop responding, this is my last one for this topic.